Head of Legal Affairs at the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re)

The African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) is the leading pan-African reinsurance company and the largest re-insurer in Africa. Headquartered in Lagos (Nigeria), Africa Re operates through six (6) Regional Offices across Africa: Casablanca (Morocco), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Nairobi (Kenya), Lagos (Nigeria), Cairo (Egypt) and Port Louis (Mauritius) and one (1) Contact Office in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). It also has three (3) Subsidiary Companies (Africa Re South Africa Limited in Johannesburg (South Africa), Africa Retakaful Company Ltd. in Cairo (Egypt) and Africa Re Underwriting Agency in Dubai (UAE).

Africa Re has a broad-based shareholding of 42 African member States, the African Development Bank, 113 African insurance and reinsurance companies, and three (3) non regional shareholders, including leading global insurers, reinsurers and international finance institutions.

Africa Re announces the vacancy of the position below on the Professional grade level:

Job Title: Head of Legal Affairs

Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Grade Level: Professional

Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Corporate Secretary of the Corporation and/or to the Group Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer, the Head of Legal Affairs will be providing support and advice required by the Corporation on all transactional and institutional legal matters.
• This includes being a trusted and key advisor to Executive Management, Central Departments, Subsidiaries, Regional Offices, etc. delivering first class legal advice on matters of key strategic, financial and reputational importance to the Corporation.

Duties / Job Details
The duties of the Head of Legal Affairs comprise amongst others:

• Providing legal advice and support on a wide range of legal activities.
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating simple and complex contracts including but not limited to those related to insurance/ reinsurance industry.
• Provides assistance in the management of relationship with specialist external legal firms and practitioners, as required
• Coordinate and supervise, under the supervision of the Executive Management and/or the Corporate Secretary, the relationships, the work and the performance of the Corporation’s external lawyers under retainership contract and other legal consultants
• Reviews and ensures updates are made to the Corporation’s documents as needed
• Participates in collaboration with the Corporate Secretary, legislative and regulatory changes or developments that might affect the Corporation’s operations or Board activities, and ensure briefing on statutory, Board and governance matters to aid informed decisions
• Analyses formal complaints against the Corporation and provides advice on measures of action
• Assists with the registration of agreements for submission to ministries, governmental departments, relevant administrations and agencies
• Provides representation to the Corporation in ensuring the efficient handling and winning resolution of all negotiations and disputes
• Ensures proper legal consultations are provided to Departments and Regional offices
• Participates in meetings with clients and concerned parties to discuss related legal matters
• Advising on general business law issues and managing the legal issues of all areas of the Corporation, including but not limited to corporate matters, procurement, safety, security, insurance and sustainability issues.
• Prepares Memorandum of Understanding, bills and statutes on administrative matters and conduct research on appropriate emerging legal issues
• To anticipate and manage the (legal) risks connected with or resulting from the Corporation’s strategy and operations.
• To pro-actively secure compliance of business operations with relevant laws and regulations.
• Attend to other duties that may be assigned by the Corporate Secretary and / or Executive Management.

Qualifications and Professional Experience
Applicants shall be holders of:

• A University or Bachelor's Degree in Law and a Post Graduate Qualification (i.e. LLM) or Equivalent Qualification
• Membership of a relevant Bar Association, as an added advantage, with a Minimum of 8 years’ cognate post call experience
• Relevant work experience in an Insurance / Reinsurance company, as an added advantage

Main Competencies
Technical:

• Strong legal experience in cross border corporate and financial matters in Africa.
• Strong legal drafting, and legal problem solving
• Knowledge of corporate governance and legal issues facing international organizations and ability to advise on them with strategic and practical solutions
• Experience in managing external legal counsels.

Others:

• Team player, strong communication, negotiation and training skills.
• Ability to deliver high-quality work under deadlines
• Proactive & innovative mind-set.
• Cross cultural and cross functional skills.
• Good planning and reporting skills.
• Ability to demonstrate independent judgment, diplomacy and discretion in advising on and handling sensitive matters.
• Capacity for analyzing, synthesizing and reasoning
• Ability to quickly build very good and sustainable relationships
• Integrity and proven sense of responsibility
• Ability to work under pressure
• Able to work in an international environment.
• Excellent computer skills required in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

Applicants must also be:

• Able to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English and/or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other.

Salary & Benefits
The successful candidate shall have the following benefits:

• Competitive Basic Salary
• Duty Post Differential (Cost of Living Allowance), that may increase or decrease depending on the economic situation and result of surveys.
• Joint contribution to the Provident Fund (7% of the basic salary paid by staff and 14% by the employer)
• Housing Allowance;
• Variable pay (Annual Performance Bonus)
• Medical cover for staff and family;
• Children education subsidy for each child up to 26 years (maximum 4 children)
• Home leave to country of origin every one (1) year paid by the employer - if Non- Nigerian National;
• Other benefits and privileges to be communicated to the selected candidates

Application Closing Date
31st August, 2021.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online